Yellow Medicine River Campground — Upper Sioux Agency State Park - PERMANENTLY CLOSED

We camped in a tipi here.  All we needed to bring were sleeping bags and sleeping pads. The kids loved being in a tipi and mom & dad loved that we didn't have to set up a tent. The deck kept us off the dirt, and we were warm all night.  What a fun and unforgettable experience.  We hiked the amazing trails throughout the park and even learned about the history of the area.

If you’re looking for some unique camping look no further than the Upper Sioux Agency State Park outside of Granite Falls Minnesota. This park is one of three parks in Minnesota that is home to Tipi camping. Yes I said Tipi!! And not even a Tipi that you need to supply one that’s already set up for you with the wood platform and everything perfect for you to have an amazing experience!

We paid $55 a night and were able to stay at this awesome Tipi campsite. The only downside to the campsite that we stayed in was that it was right on the corner of the main road. Other than that we are absolutely in love with the campsite and the staff at the park. Each day the park rangers would come through and ask if you needed firewood charge you for it and bring it straight to your campsite. This is a pretty good option for buying firewood since the park office was a few miles away from the actual campsite.

It was a really nice shower and bathroom facility along with vault toilets just off the main road. The campground is pretty open but still secluded enough for us to feel like we were there alone. There was a river close to the campsite so that we could fish if we wanted to. And just a short walk or drive or bike ride you could get to the picnic area right off the river and have a really nice day or evening. There were also backpack in camp sites that were really secluded and pretty large. The only problem to those was they were close to the river and the mosquitoes are pretty bad.

This park also has equestrian camping and it’s really nice because it’s completely separate from the main campground.

There wasn’t a whole lot to do around the Park in the nearby towns however there was some cute little antique and thrift shops which was right up our alley.

We would definitely go back and stay in a tipi again!!! What a cool experience!!!

Upper Sioux agency is a great park for camping. We stayed in the teppees which were amazing. We had two children with beds along with a queen size air-mattress on a raised platform. And another adult in the tepee with plenty of room in the middle.

We went when the fireflys were out and at night the fields looked like they were glittering.

While some of the park was closed due to errosion issues, the Minnesota river trail and the Hiking Club trail (terrace trail) made for a great Sunday hike. We will likely make it out that way to hike other trails in the future

My husband and I wanted to try out camping with our five-month-old, so we stayed two nights in Upper Sioux Agency State Park at the Yellow Medicine River Campground. The campground was well-maintained, clean, potable water tasted good, the outhouse had toilet paper and hand sanitizer, and the sites/paths were mowed. Our site (#5) did not have any tree cover, so midday was HOT! It looked like all of the other sites had at least one tree, if not a small forest surrounding the site - so it was just our dumb luck to choose the one site without shade [via the DNR website]. The state park has over 18 miles of trails - - - most are grassy paths mowed along the Yellow Medicine River, through the prairie, or over the grasslands - none with noticeable elevation changes.

Sites were spaced out nicely. Several sites were in sunny areas, but there are some with full shade and privacy. The walk-in sites looked really nice if you're willing to carry your stuff in a little ways. We saw a ton of fireflies at night and there were a lot of little frogs hopping around. One even hopped into the tent when I didn't close it all the way. There were very few campers around, even in the middle of summer.

Nice enough campsites, but no privacy. Good hiking trails.